VENEZUELA MOVES ON IN CREATING OWN TOURISM BOARD

According to the statements made by the Minister of Tourism, Andres Izarra, the only way to strengthen tourism in Venezuela is by working together with the government and the private sector. The minister informed about the plans for the creation of Venezuelan Council of Tourism Promotion.

During an interview in Venevision, Izarra said: "We will hold a series of meetings, which will allow us to build or determine the foundation of a council for the promotion and development of tourism in Venezuela."

He explained that this council should be an organization that recommends policies to boost domestic tourism and to act jointly with the National Executive, private entrepreneurs and people to promote tourist destinations.

The tourism minister said that Venezuela has still much potential to grow and can do more, especially to increase the inbound tourism.

"We need to generate foreign exchange and bolster tourism as a factor of building a powerful Venezuela," he said.

He stressed that in order to create the right conditions for tourism, there should be good conditions in terms of roads, services and infrastructure.

He stressed that the 2013-2019 Homeland Plan speaks of diversification of the economy, and tourism should be a cornerstone for this, with which he considered that travel and hospitality can generate an income similar to oil industry "if we coordinate the policies that can make tourism an attractive factor."